


Break My Fall

by misanthropiclycanthrope



Category: Shetland (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Post-Season/Series 04, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 15:33:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14084013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misanthropiclycanthrope/pseuds/misanthropiclycanthrope
Summary: After the shock of their encounter with Malone, Jimmy and Duncan find solace in each other's company.





	Break My Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been watching _Shetland_ , it was late, and this kinda happened. Because who needs sleep when you can low-key ship these two instead? Not me, apparently.
> 
> Set after S4 E6.

“Aye, okay.”

Jimmy had expected Duncan to decline his offer of a drink, so his response brought with it a flicker of hope. Maybe something could be salvaged from the trials and revelations of the past few days, a way could be found to negotiate the minefield as they had so many times in the past. But there was a weary edge to his acceptance that suggested he was just too drained to fight, to hold a grudge.

Huddled on the sofa, a Scotch cradled in his hands and unseeing gaze fixed on the amber liquid, Duncan looked almost as lost as he had in that cell. He stirred only when Jimmy joined him, eyes finding new focus, searching Jimmy’s face.

“Did you really believe I couldae hurt those girls?”

“No.” Jimmy’s answer was immediate and honest, and having that conviction shaken when he’d heard the DNA results from the scarf had been devastating. “But I won’t apologise for taking you in. I was following the evidence. It’s my job.” He remembered telling Cassie the same thing, hating how often his job threatened to drive a wedge between him and those he cared about.

“I know.” The absence of an argument was a surprise; perhaps he was starting to accept some responsibility, and wouldn’t that be a first? Yet there was one thing that still nettled Jimmy.

“But you lied to me.”

Duncan’s shoulders sagged a little further, his gaze slipping away, the shame still weighing heavily down on him. “I just didnae want Cass to think any less of me than she already does.”

“She’ll forgive you.” Of that, Jimmy was certain. Cassie always seemed to find the good in people. It had taken little persuasion for them to grant permission for her to drop in on Alan. The lad was going to need support and Cass was well placed and willing to provide it. “Just give her some time to get her head around it all.”

“And you?” Duncan risked a glance back at Jimmy, testing the waters.

“I understand why you did it.” That was all he could offer right then, and Duncan nodded, accepting understanding where forgiveness would take time.

And he still had to make peace with his own decisions and their consequences.

Duncan lifted the glass to his lips, and Jimmy saw the tremor in his hand. Duncan noticed too, settled the glass back in his lap after taking a fortifying sip.

“How’s Mary bearing up?”

If Duncan recognised the question for the interrogation technique it was, he gave no sign.

“Still shaken. She’s gone to stay with a friend.”

Jimmy didn’t blame her. It would have been a hell of a shock, finding a man brandishing a shotgun in your home, a place you believed to be safe.

Even more so to find yourself on the business end of the weapon.

He echoed Duncan’s earlier question. “And you?”

Duncan shook his head as if trying to rid himself of the memory, his face pale, eyes haunted. “Christ, Jimmy, I thought I was dead.” He scrubbed a hand up through his hair, leaving the fine strands sticking up every which way.

“I wouldn’tae let that happen.”

Duncan looks at Jimmy like he still can’t quite believe he had stepped in front of a gun for him, had been prepared to take the shot for him.

“I owe you my life.”

“Aye. Well.” Jimmy didn't consider himself a knight in shining armour; he’d merely been trying to prevent any more lives being destroyed. And if Duncan’s was one of those lives under threat, well. That just made it all the more imperative he succeed. An image rose unbidden in his mind: Malone’s lifeless body on the interview room floor, so close to freedom only to have it snatched cruelly from his grasp. He blinked it away only for it to be replaced immediately by the indelible sight of Duncan with a gun trained on him. “Just don’t waste it, eh?”

Duncan’s short, humourless laugh said it all. They both knew Jimmy considered that easier said than done where Duncan Hunter was concerned.

“Aye, I’ll do my best.”

Duncan raised his glass again only to realise it was empty, and he seemed baffled by how that had happened. He shot a glance at the clock, likely trying to judge if he’d overstayed his welcome yet so obviously reluctant to move if he had. Jimmy could sympathise. How often had he returned to an empty house with nothing but his own thoughts for company? One thing he would never take for granted was Cassie’s presence in his life.

“It’s getting late.” Evening hadn’t yet bled into night, and there was still an hour before Cassie was due home. But Duncan looked drained, and Jimmy wouldn’t wish solitude on him tonight. “You can stop here, if you don’t fancy the drive home.”

Relief flooded Duncan’s features, and he visibly attempted not to appear too eager when he replied, “Okay.”

“I’ll fetch you a pillow.” Jimmy pushed to his feet, but paused when Duncan spoke again.

“Jimmy?”

He turned back, looked at the man who he now, surprisingly and unexpectedly, counted as one of his closest friends.

“Thanks.”

Jimmy knew he wasn’t just referring to the pillow.

* * * *

It was the sound of restless footsteps that roused Jimmy from a light, fitful sleep at two a.m. He found Duncan hunkered on the sofa, scrubbing his palms roughly over his face.

“Cannae sleep?”

Duncan peeked between his fingers and, if possible, managed to look even more miserable.

“Sorry. I didnae mean to wake you.”

Jimmy shook his head, dismissing the apology. He hadn’t really been asleep anyway. A brief detour to the kitchen, then he dropped down beside Duncan and pressed a mug of hot, sweet tea into his hand. The look he received in return was one of immense gratitude.

Duncan nursed his tea in silence for a while, Jimmy content just to keep him company. When he did finally speak, he sounded hollow, his voice ragged.

“Every time I close my eyes I see Malone pointing that gun at me. At you.”

“I know.”

Jimmy wasn’t going to offer empty platitudes, tell him he’d soon be over the shock. It wasn’t that simple, he knew that all too well. Instead, he placed a hand on Duncan’s thigh, a grounding pressure, physical proof that he was here and safe when words wouldn’t suffice.

Duncan stared at his hand for a moment, then looked at Jimmy, a question in his eyes. Jimmy smiled, self-conscious and feeling suddenly daft, and made to take his hand back only to have Duncan catch it, holding it in place. Offering a bashful smile of his own, Duncan let Jimmy enfold his cool fingers in a warm grasp.

If there was something faintly ridiculous about two grown men holding hands, in that moment Jimmy couldn’t find it in himself to care. And when Duncan dozed off against his shoulder he didn’t have the heart, nor any inclination, to move.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from 'The Great Unknown' by Laurence Fox.
> 
> I should definitely write something better for this pair sometime.


End file.
